Chickpeas and Crushes

While I was waiting for the Girl Scout cookie delivery lady to arrive last Thursday night, I did all the prep work for a new recipe I was going to try. I wish I could remember exactly where I got it from, but alas, I cannot.  So, if this is your recipe for Pasta and Chickpeas (Pasta e Ceci), please announce yourself so I may give you credit!

I decided to give the recipe a shot because it seemed simple enough to make on a weeknight and used three of my favorite ingredients: chickpeas, pancetta and rosemary. The results were exactly what I was going for: a delightful pasta stew with lots of flavor that made my belly feel all warm and fuzzy. Here’s how you can make it yourself:

Pasta and Chickpeas (Pasta e Ceci)
3 cups canned chickpeas, divided
6 cups water
1 whole peeled clove garlic, plus 3 cloves minced
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary chopped, plus one small sprig
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (plus more, if needed)
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 ounces pancetta, diced
1 rib celery, with leaves, thinly sliced (I left out the leaves)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 ounces tagliatelle or other ribbon pasta, broken (I used Amish Naturals spinach spaghetti)
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Drain and rinse chickpeas. Combine 2 cups of chickpeas and water in a soup pot and bring it to a gentle boil. Meanwhile, bash whole garlic clove with the side of a knife enough to bruise it and release oils, but not break it up. Add it, the rosemary sprig and sea salt to soup pot. Mash remaining cup of chickpeas in a bowl with hand masher, adding a little water from the pot to aid in mashing. Stir mashed chickpeas into the pot. At this point, things won’t look or smell very promising. Don’t worry. It will be delicious.

As the chickpea mixture gently boils, heat a skillet over a low flame. Add olive oil, pancetta, chopped rosemary and celery and sauté for 3 or 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add minced garlic to pan and sauté until fragrant, about 45 seconds. Add tomato paste and about 1/2 cup of broth from the soup pot, stirring to dissolve tomato paste. Add mixture to soup pot. Cook for a few minutes to combine flavors. Discard rosemary sprig and whole garlic clove. Add broken pasta (you eat this dish with a spoon, not a fork, so you want the pasta in manageable pieces).

Cook until pasta is just barely al dente. Check seasoning—you may need more salt, but with canned chickpeas and tomato paste, the saltiness may vary. Ladle into individual soup bowls and top with a generous helping of freshly ground pepper. Serve with a crusty bread.

In addition to my crush on that yummy recipe, I’ve also developed quite a crush on the following two handsome devils:

Haaz Sleiman

 He plays Tarek in the movie ”The Visitor.”

Scott Michael Foster

He plays Cappie in the TV show “Greek.”

Meow, fellas, ME-OW.

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